Instructors

Leslie Cranston

Leslie is an experienced and skilled teacher who has been studying and practicing yoga for over 27 years, and sharing her love and knowledge of yoga with others since 2007.  

Leslie is a natural leader whose warmth, patience and passion for yoga combine to provide instruction that is deeply nourishing, inspiring and personally fulfilling. She prefers to work with individuals privately and in small classes in order for everyone to benefit fully from her detailed instructions, hands-on adjustments and individual attention.  With her caring support and guidance, students are able to develop a deeper understanding and increased proficiency in all aspects of their yoga practice. 

Leslie studied under Master yoga teachers Ron Reid and Diane Bruni at the Downward Dog in Toronto in 2007 to become certified with Yoga Alliance International and the Canadian Yoga Alliance. After completing her initial 200 hours of training, she studied an additional 100 hours of advanced training in Yoga Therapy, philosophy, prenatal yoga and Ayurveda. In recent years, she has taken additional yoga instruction courses in Children's yoga, and has been certified to teach Restorative Yoga (Advanced Relax and Renew(R) training with Judith Hanson Lasater), Seniors Yoga (with Monica Cordes) and Flow Yoga (with Bibi Rahim-Hahn).  She incorporates elements of all of this learning, as well as her own experience from her personal practice, into her teaching.

Leslie is the owner and founder of Yoga Grove. She teaches Absolute Beginner Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Flow Yoga and Restorative Yoga at the studio.

What People are Saying:

"You are an excellent instructor, Leslie. Thank you for sharing your talent." 
- Liz
"Leslie is super friendly and it's obvious that she has a passion for yoga and sharing it with others."
- Nate

"Leslie is kind, patient, encouraging and excited to teach us." - Allison

"Leslie is a thoughtful and sensitive teacher with no pretension. She is caring and skilled and has created a small personalized class where she can be 'hands on' - helping students refine their yoga practice." - Gia

Emily Bartlett

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Actor, Yogini and Seeker, Emily has over 500 hours of certified yoga training through Yoga Space.

Her love of Vinyasa helped to manage her abundant energy, that if wasn’t channeled led down the road of anxiety. Through her Vinyasa practice she continues to build her personal discipline and stamina.

Her love of Flow yoga truly taught her the beauty of making the practice a moving meditation and how life-changing loving acceptance is. As taught to her by Bibi Rahim-Hahn, Flow yoga is of a Kundalini-Tantric lineage.

Her passion for Restorative Yoga has taught Emily the power or rest, space and stillness. Her Restorative classes are a deeply heartfelt offering combining meditation technique to still the mind and optional hands-on support and aromatherapy.

Emily teaches Flow Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Restorative Flow Yoga, and Deluxe Restorative Yoga with Massage at Yoga Grove.

Laura Bianchi

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Laura Bianchi’s yoga practice encourages kindness, peace and connection to the breath. Through conscious breathing, we connect to the present and the subtle energy within. We are grounded in the physical world, calm in our physical bodies, and clear in our minds. Yoga has been a constant in Laura’s life as she made the transition from her life in Argentina to her life in Canada.
Laura shares her love of yoga with students, teaching them how to build their own practice and incorporate yoga into their everyday life. In her classes, Laura whole-heartedly supports and respects her students’ individual needs. We all come to the mat for different reasons. We might want to build strength, resilience and flexibility. We might be searching for ease in our bodies. Sometimes, we come to the mat to find rest, support and deep relaxation. Laura meets all of her students where they are.
In addition to her 1000 hours of yoga therapist training, Laura is also a trained teacher of yoga for children, restorative yin yoga, yoga for anxiety and depression and mindfulness meditation. Teaching yoga to students with MS, Parkinson’s Disease, Cancer and other challenges enriches her deep understanding of how central the breath is to healing and to finding comfort in our bodies in the present moment. Laura also teaches in schools, corporate settings, retreats and practices yoga therapy with individual clients.

Laura teaches Yoga for Managing Stress and Anxiety, and Yin/Restorative Yoga at Yoga Grove.

Darcie Clark

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Since 2006 Darcie has helped thousands of people realize the benefits of yoga in her studio classes, private sessions, and teacher trainings.

Darcie teaches the skills of awareness and self-inquiry through careful cueing and thoughtful sequencing.
Her goal is to make people of any age, physical ability, body size, and background feel capable, supported, and encouraged in their yoga practice. Her calm, grounded nature and clear, concise language inspire her students to feel more receptive, engaged, and restored after each class.

In addition to a 500HR certification through YogaSpace, Darcie continues to take courses in yoga and other movement modalities that have influenced her contemporary teaching style. These include Functional Movement (Scott Davis), Developmental Movement (Diane Bruni), Pilates (Margot McKinnon), Body-Mind Centering (Mariko Tanabe), Somatics (Nadine Saxton), Mindful Strength (Kathryn Bruni-Young) and Fascial Trains (Tom Myers).

Along with a daily yoga and meditation practice, Darcie enjoys activities that connect her to the web of life all around her, including sailing, bird-watching, astronomy, and walking in nature.

Join Darcie for Therapeutic Flow and Functional Strength for Yoga at Yoga Grove. 

Christine Felstead

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Have you, like me, ever dreamed of learning from a true yoga expert in a small semi-private environment, where you can ask questions, interact directly, and develop a strong student-teacher relationship with them, truly being mentored along your yoga path by a renowned and highly-esteemed yogi?  

Christine is most certainly one. In fact, she was voted "Top Yoga Instructor" in the 2019 Toronto Star Reader's Choice awards, and is nominated again for this year's award. She is a teacher of teachers, and many instructors that have taught here at Yoga Grove have trained under her, including AnnMarie Wolf, Jennifer Whyte and Andrea Raymond. 

Although I would call her a Master, she insists that she is still, and will always continue to be, a student. And  I can definitely attest to the boundless energy she channels into learning and continually evolving, and then sharing all she learns through her teaching and writing. 

Christine "invented" Yoga for Runners(TM), that is, she coined the term and developed the program - she literally wrote the book on the subject! And she has trained countless instructors to carry on the lineage. Most recently, she has made her mark in the industry with her insights and instruction in aging gracefully through Yoga, focusing on strength, agility and mobility in our practice.

Christine teaches Yoga for Ages 50+ at Yoga Grove.

Nikki Gauci

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Yoga has been a part of Nikki's life for over 10 years.

​She first found refuge in the simple yet life-changing practice while she was working in high intensity kitchens. During that time she began to notice and experience a profound calming effect in her life. With that realization, she quit her job and pursued a Yoga Teaching Training program.

Since then, she has been spreading the seed of yoga with the hopes of guiding people to their eternal stillness, allowing them to realize the infinite amount of boundless love, energy and connection we can have with ourselves and others when we are harmonizing our mind, body and spirit.

Nikki has been trained in Flow Yoga by senior yoga teacher Bibi Rahim-Hahn, the same master teacher who trained Leslie and Emily.

Nikki teaches Flowyoga and Meditation classes at Yoga Grove.

Jennifer Gillmor

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​Jen discovered yoga in 1990 as a rewarding antidote to the stress of a very busy urban existence and a way to balance her life-long commitment to fitness with mindfulness and meditation.

Initially practicing Kundalini yoga, then exploring Sivananda she found a perfect fit with Bibi Rahim-Hahn's Flow Yoga classes.
After many years of Flow practice, she completed YTT at Yogaspace in 2011 and has been teaching weekly since 2012. 

She continually expands her knowledge through advanced courses in yoga and bodywork (massage).

A bodyworker since 2008 (specializing in Thai Massage), Jen's knowledge of physiology and focus on fitness have inspired a devotion to helping people feel good in their bodies and pave the way to a more comfortable, graceful aging process. Her classes also concentrate on the practice of presence as healthy escape deep into the self amidst the increasing distractions of modern life. She helps her students cultivate awareness of, and gratitude for, their bodies' incredible systems. Jen also specializes in teaching modified yoga for seniors and those with mobility limitations.

​Jen teaches Flow Yoga at Yoga Grove.

Jennifer Whyte

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Jennifer came to yoga as an injured runner, looking to quickly heal and get back on the road. Instead, she ended up finding a passion that keeps her coming back to her mat. 

Since 2010, Jennifer has been a committed yoga student. She further expanded her experience through completing a 300hr teacher training with a focus in Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga. Jennifer is a certified Yoga for Runners™ instructor, having completed Christine Felstead’s Yoga for Runner’s training module. She has also continued her training through workshops on sequencing, the primary series, mindfulness and yoga for youth.

​Jennifer’s students describe her as energetic and passionate. She brings a balance of strength and flexibility to her classes, sequencing in ways that challenge students to tune into the body and mind. 
 
Jennifer teaches Vinyasa Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga at Yoga Grove.